Shoe-sewing machine



Dec. 1, 1925. 1,563,437

J. H. REED sum: -snwnm MACHINE Filed Nov, 25, 1921 2 Sheets-$heot 2 fix Patented Dec. 1, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES H. REED, OF SWAMPSCOTT, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CORPORATION, OF PATERSON, NEW JER- SEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

SHOE-SEWING MACHINE.

Application filed November 25, 1921.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JAMES H. REED, a citizen of the United States, residing at Swampscott, county of Essex, State of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Shoe-Sewing Machines, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to the manufacture of sewed shoes, and to sewing machines of the general type shown and described in my prior application for Letters Patent filed August 13, 1921, Serial No. 491,897,

r and adapted primarily for sewing McKay shoes, although also capable of use for many other purposes, as. for example, for stitching along the shanks on the inside of shoes of the Goodyear welt type. Such a machine sews a lock-stitch seam and has a straight barbed needle and a shuttle supplying a shuttle thread on the outer side of the sole of the shoe, while within the shoe there is a cooperating horn provided with an oscilr lating looper supplying the cop thread, the

horn and looper being of such construction as to enable them to operate in the constricted space within the toe of a shoe. In said machine, provision is also made for perforating the work for the passage of the needle in such a manner as to avoid, so far as possible, the weakening of the stock along the line of the seam.

The present invention has for its object to provide, in a machine of the character above described, an improved needle motion permitting the use of a straight, barbed and flattened needle suitable for cooperation in such a machine with the shuttle and looper mechanisms, while providing for the formation of the seam without weakening the between-substance of the stock along the line thereof and without the necessity of einploying special perforating means for this purpose as in the prior machine above referred to.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention, together with means whereby the same may be carried into effect, will best Serial No. 517,584.

be understood from the following description of one form or embodiment thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly broken away, of substantially the complete machine.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged front elevation of the upper portion thereof.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detail view of a portion of the needle bar.

Fig. 4 is a detail vertical section taken substantially on theline 4-4 of Fig. 2.

' Fig. 5 is a detail horizontal section taken substantially on the line 55 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan View of the work, showing the needle in section, and illustrating the operation of the latter as well as the seam formed thereby.

Figures 7 and 8 are enlarged detail elevations, taken at right angles to one another respectively, of the needle.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown at the supporting frame or upright of the machine, at 16 the horn or work support, and at 17 the framework of the head which is supported upon the top of the upright 15. The horn 16 is of a size and shape to render it capable of being inserted into the toe of a shoe' and is mounted upon or in a suitable support or bearing 18 carried at the forward side of the frame or upright 15 in such a manner as to permit said horn to be turned as the sewing progresses. At 41 is shown a presser bar slidable vertically in the machine head 17 and carrying at its lower end a presser foot 42 adapted to engage the upper surface of the work A on the horn 16. The presser bar 41 is held down by a spring 43 and may be lifted against the tension of said spring to insert the work by means of a suitable treadle lever 48 at the base of the machine with which said presser bar is operatively connected. At 19 is shown a straight needle which is flattened and barbed. At 21 is shown a shuttle which feeds the shuttle thread 22 and cooperates with the needle in the formation of the stitch. In-

side the horn is a looper 23 through which the cop thread 24 is fed and which also cooperates with the needle in the formation of the stitch. Two takeups are shown at 25 and 26 respectively, the former to take up the slack of the loop in the formation of the stitch and the latter to set the stitch firmly and securely in the stock. All the stitch-forming instrumentalities are actuated from a horizontal main shaft 27 journalled in the head 17 and a vertical cam shaft 28 journalled in suitable bearings on the frame or upright 15 and operatively connected with the shaft 27 by spiral gears 29. The shaft 27 receives power from any suitable source through a pulley loosely mounted on said shaft and adapted to be connected therewith by means of a clutch 31 operated by a bell crank lever 32 pivoted to the head 17 and connected by a rod '53 with a suitable treadle lever 3d at the base of the machine.

The needle 19 is carried by a vertically disposed needle bar guided for longitudinal movement in suitable portions of the head 17 and is reciprocated therein during the operation of the machine by mechanism hereinafter more fully described. The horn till 16 is hollow and is of the general elbow shape usual in machines of this characterl Said horn is provided with a hollow base 98 having a journal portion 98 rotatably mounted in the bearing 18, said hollow base enclosing a portion of the mechanism for operating the looper and stitch-setting takeup, which mechanism, however, forms no portion of the present invention and is not described in detail herein. The upper surface of the horn forms a work support which is pierced, as shown at 100, to admit the passage of the needle. The looper .43 comprises a whirl having an axial opening to receive the needle and an eccentric guide for the cop thread 24.- whereby, when the needle is in its lowermost position with its barb within the axial opening of the whirl, rotation or oscillation of said whirl will cause said thread to be laid in the barb of the needle or immediately above the same. Thereafter, when the needle rises, the cop thread is caught by the barb and is carried up through the work, forming a loop. The shuttle 21, which is of flat cylindrical form, is removably received and rotatably mounted in a shuttle case 72 secured to the head 17, said shuttle case being disposed with its axis slightly inclined to the horizontal, and with its forward face slightly inclined to the vertical path of movement of the needle. the lower edge of said shuttle being in close proximity to said path. The shuttle is in termittently rotated about its longitudinal axis by means of a shuttle shaft 76 journalled in bearings carried by the head 17, said shaft extending at its forward end into the shuttle case and being provided with means (not shown) to engage and rotate the shuttle. The shaft 76 is formed with a spiral groove 7 9 to cooperate with a suitably formed projection on a sleeve 81 rotatably mounted in a slide 82 and connected therewith by a one-way clutch (not shown), the arrangement being such that when the slide 82 is moved longitudinally on the shaft '76 in one direction, the sleeve 81 will be locked against rotation therein and will rotate the shaft 76, while when the said slide is moved in the opposite direction, the sleeve 81 will rotate therein, permitting the shaft to remain stationary. The slide 82 is reciprocated on the shaft 76 by means of a lever 86 pivoted at 87 to the head 17 and having a bifurcated end which embraces trunnions 88 on said slide, said lever having a cam roller 89 which cooperates with a groove in a cam 90 on the shaft 27. The shuttle 21 is formed with a hook 92 which is located entirely in front of the plane of the front face of the shuttle so that, when said shuttle is rotated, said hook will cross the path of the needle 19 in the general direction of the length of the seam. When, therefore, said needle comes up through the work with the loop of the cop thread caught in its barb, as heretofore explained, the shuttle is rotated in a counterclockwise direction, as shown in Figure 2, and the point of the shuttle hook enters said loop. Thereafter, continued rotation of the shuttle causes said loop to pass thereabout, said loop being thereafter withdrawn from the shuttle which, together with the shuttle thread, has thus been passed through the loop. The withdrawal of the loop from the shuttle is effected by the primary or stitchforming takeup 25 which comprises a roller adapted to engage the cop thread 24: between a pair of guide rollers 121 over which said thread passes. The roller 25 is carried by the end of a slide or rod 122 guided in the frame of the machine for longitudinal movement in a direction transverse to the path of movement of the thread and connected at its rear end to a bell crank lever 123 provided with a cam roller 12&- cooperating with a cam 125 on the shaft 28.

The parts above referred to, as to their general arrangement and cooperative relationship, and except as hereinafter pointed out, are, or may be, substantially as shown in my prior application above referred to or otherwise as may be preferred.

In order to cooperate most effectively with the cop thread and shuttle, the needle 1f) is flattened, the barb 19 thereof being formed in one of its edges and said barb being disposed at the side of the needle toward which the hook 92 of the shuttle moves, so that said loop may be removed from said barb by said shuttle hook. Thus, in the construction shown in Figure 2, the

IOU

loop removing movement of the shuttle hook is from left to right, so that the barb is located at the right side of the needle. This arrangement necessitates the location of the needle with its greatest cross-sectional dimension in the direction of the length of the seam. As is well known to those skilledin the art, in the operation of shoe sewing machines the series of holes made by the needle along the line of the seam tends so to weaken the stock along this line that the stitches frequently pull through the between-substance, thus 'tearing the stock and destroying the seam. This tendency is increased by the use of a fiat needle disposed with its greatest cross-sectional dimension longitudinal of the seam, such a needle making in the stock aligned slits with their ends relatively close together. In order to overcome this difliculty, and in accordance with the present invention, the needle is caused to pass through the stock in a position in which its greatest cross-sectional dimension is transverse to the length of the seam, the arrangement, however, being such that, at the time the shuttle is operated to remove the loop from the needle, the barb of the latter will be in a position to facilitate this operation. Preferably, this result is accomplished by imparting to the needle a rotary or oscillatory movement about its longitudinal axis in addition to its longitudinal reciprocatory movement, so that the needle will pass through the work in an angular position transverse to the length of the seam, but, after its withdrawal from the work. will be turned into an angular position parallel therewith. To this end, in the form of the invention shown, the following construction is provided:

The needle bar 35 is of circular crosssection, and is guided in theframe 17 in such a manner as to permit both rotary and longitudinal movement thereof, the needle 19 being suitably secured to the lower end thereof and in a position coaxial therewith, so as also to be rotated about its own longitudinal axis when the needle bar is rotated. Said needle bar is reciprocated by a cam lever 36 pivoted at 37 to the head 17 and carrying a cam roll 38 cooperating with a groove in a cam 39 on the shaft 27. The lever is connected by a link 40 with a. stud or lug 145 which projects radially from a collar 146 rotat-ably held on the needle bar between fixed collars 147, whereby reciprocation of the link 40 is communicated to the needle bar 35 while permitting rotation of the latter. The needle bar 35 is formed with a cam groove 148 which is engaged by a stud or projection 149 on a suitable portion of the head 17. The cam groove 148 comprises a spiral or helical portion 148 terminating at its upper end in a straight longitudinal portion 148, and preferably also at its flower end in a shorter longitudinal portion 148 It will thus be seen that, as the needle bar is moved downwardly from its uppermost position, the stud 149, passing fromthe straight portion 148 of the groove 148 into the helical portion 148 thereof, will cause said needle bar to, be turned upon its axis into a position in which its greatest cross-sectional dimension is transverse to the length of the seam. This takes place before the needle enters the stock, and during its passage therethrough the needle bar is held against further rotation by engagement of the stud 149 with the longitudinal groove portion 148 Upon its upward movement, the needle is held against rotation until it leaves the stock and is thereafter turned back into its initial angular position with the barb thereon located in alignment with the seam by the groove portion 148, and is finally locked in said position during the operation of the shuttle by engagement of said stud with the cam groove portion 148. In this manner the needle is caused to penetrat the work with its greatest cross-sectional dimension transverse to the length of the seam s (see Figure 6), so that the elongated perforations or slits b are also transverse to the length of the seam, the stock a between said perforations or slits being pressed and consolidated in the direction of the length of the seam and thereby strengthened instead of weakened at these points, so as to prevent any tendency for the seam to be torn out along this line. The angle through which the needle is turned, and consequently the angle formed by the perforations Z) with the seam s, will depend upon the angular length of the helical portion 148 of the groove 148. As herein shown, this angle is about 45, this having been found sufficient to accomplish the result sought while avoiding objectionable opening of the slits when the stitches are set or tightened, but may be made greater or less as may be preferred.

The feeding of the work may be accomplished in any desired manner, as by means of a reciprocating feed point or pawl of well known construction, but preferably, and as herein shown. there is provided a four motion awl mechanism similar to that disclosed and claimed in my prior application aforesaid. This mechanism is as follows:

The presser foot 42 is periodically lifted. to permit the feeding of the work, by means of a bell crank lever 49, one arm of which engages an adjustable abutment screw 50 carried by the presser bar 41, and the other v arm of which is provided with a cam roller 51 which is periodically engaged by a projection 52 on the cam 39. In the lower end oi? the presser bar 41 is formed a giiideway in which is located a feed slide (see Figure 2). Said teed slide is actuated by a link 5% pivotally and adjustably connected at 55 to the lower end of an arin 56 which is fast upon one end oi? a rock shaft :37 journalled in hearings in the head LT and having first upon its opposite end a sexond arm 58 carrying a cam roll 55) which cooperates with a groove in a cam (3? on the shaft 27. Pivoted at (it to the teed slide 53 is a lever 62 to one arm of which an :iwl 20 is letachably secured, as by a set screw 63, and the other arm of which is bifurcated to cooperate with a stud (i-l arried by one arm of a bell crank lever 65 pivoted to the presser bar ll. The other arm of the lever (35 carries a block 6 siidably conne-ted with one end of a link 66, the other end of which is connected with an arm 6T. i-idjnstahly secured to the link (it; is a nut Q and between the nut and the block ti is interposed a coiled spring 5) (Figure 2). Th s construction forms a yielding comiection between the bell crank es and the link 66. The arm 67, previously referred to, is 't'orined on a sleeve (58 which is loosely mounted on the rock shaft 57 between the arms 56 and 58. The sleeve 68 is provided with a seeondarm 69 carrying a cam roller 70 cooperating with av groove in a cam Ti on the. shaft 27.

I11 operation, the awl 20 is first depressed by the lever (55 and connections to engage the work, and then the presser toot 1 .2 is lifted to permit the work to be fed forward. lVhen the presser foot is lifted it does not pull the awl from the work, said and being held in engagement with the work by pressure from the spring 9. The feed slide is then moved forwardly by the arm 56 and connections to advance the work, then the presser toot is returned to clamp the work again, the awl 20 is then raised to disengage the work, and the slide 53 finally retracted to permit the awl to engage the work at a new point. During its downward movement the point of the awl ineises and enters the work to an appreciable extent, preferably limited and determined by a shoulder 20 formed on said awl above its point, so that the feeding of the work is positive and of a definite amount, corresponding to the length of the feeding movement of the awl, at each operation, thereby insuring an even seam.

In the present construction, the and 20 is formed with a chisel point or edge which is disposed trai'isversely to the direction of feed, being set at an angle to the length of the seam corresponding to the annular position of the needle 19 during the penetration of the work by the latter, as above explained. It will be understood that the arrangement is such that the incisions made by the awl are in line with the path of movement of the needle when the latter descends to penetrate the work, thereby facilitating the latter operation. It will be seen that, during the incision of the \vork by the awl, the stock (1. between the transverse incisions Z1 will be given a preliminary pressure or consolidation in the direction of the length of the seam in addition to the pressure or consolidation eiiected by the needle, as above explained, thereby contributing to the result sought. It will be understood, however, that this result is accomplished primarily by the turning movement of the needle, so that, if desired, the chisel edge awl may be omitted, and different ifeeijling means employed, although the t'tll'lstl'uetltlll shown is considered preferable.

ilhat I claim is:

1. In a shoe sewing machine, the combination with a flattened needle, of means for reciprocating said needle and for imparting rotary movement thereto to cause the same to penetrate the work in a position with its greatest ci-osssectional dimension transverse to the length of the seam and to be turned into a position with said dimension parallel to said seam when withdrawn from the work, and an awl having a chisel edge disposed transverse to the scam in an angular position corresponding to the angular position of said needle during the work penetrating movement of the latter.

2. In a shoe sewing nn'iehine, a combination, an awl, means for imparting work feeding movement to said awl, said awl having a chisel edge disposed transverse to the direction oi work feeding movement thereof, a flattened needle, and means for reciprocating said needle and for imparting rotary movement thereto to cause the same to penetrate the work with its greatest cross-sectional dimension in an angular position eorresponding to the position of the edge of said awl and to be turned into a position with said dimension parallel to the feeding movement of said awl when withdrawn from the work.

3. In a shoe sewing machine, in combination, a straight flattened needle having a loop receiving barb at one edge, a looper 00- operating with said needle to form a loop thereon, av shuttle to receive the loop from said needle, and means for reciprocating said needle and imparting rotary movement thereto to *ause the same to penetrate the work with its greatest cross-sectional dimension transverse to the length of the seam and to be presented to the shuttle with its barb at the side thereof in the direction of the length of the seam.

4. In a shoe sewing machine, in combination, a straight flattened barbed needle and a shuttle on one side of the work, a looper on the opposite side of the work, said looper cooperating with said needle to form a loop thereon, said shuttle having a hook to receive said loop from said needle, the loop receiving movement of said hook being in the general direction of the length of the seam, and means for reciprocating said needle and imparting rotary movement thereto to cause the same to penetrate the Work with its greatest eross-secti0nal dimension transverse to the length of the seam and to be turned into a position with said di-- mension parallel to said seam when withdrawn from the work.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature,

JAMES H. REED. 

